Melding Practice and Research: Clarifying the Focus of the DNP Capstone Project

DNP faculty and students call for increased clarity about the goals and outcomes of the DNP capstone project. Both express concerns about the areas in which the capstone project differs from, or overlaps with, a PhD dissertation. It remains important for the profession to clarify the focus of these projects as DNP programs continue to proliferate. The AACN Essentials and NONPF guidelines continue to emphasize the practice focus of these projects; however, maintaining the optimal relationship between research methods and a practice focus remains a challenge for most programs. PhD-prepared DNP faculty have found that their understanding of the requirements of a practice inquiry project may be dissimilar from students’ understanding. Is the DNP project research? How can a clinically-relevant project be developed without a solid background in research methods? How much content in research methods should be included in the DNP curriculum? How much research preparation should be required of DNP applicants, many of whom have not completed a Master’s-level research course? Where is the balance between maintaining the program’s emphasis on expert advanced practice and giving students the skills (some of which are research-related) to address systems problems at the local and national levels? This presentation will consider answers to the above questions developed through a review of the literature and input generated by discussions with colleagues in nursing and in other practice disciplines. We will apply knowledge of efforts in other clinical disciplines, particularly psychology, to meld the roles of researcher and clinician, in the Scientist-Practitioner Model (APA, 1950). We will consider the evolution in the conceptualization of the DNP role and reflect on the experiences of psychology, education and social work in dealing with the research-practice interface.